With the advent of distributed networks and the increase of communication speed between network elements, the amount and complexity of data used throughout networks has increased. These large, complex, computing environments often include a number of elements such as, for example, servers, routers, databases, mainframes, personal computers, intelligent agents, and business applications. The complex data used in these environments must be accessible through various aspects of the distributed networks. Furthermore, administrators of these networks require tools to manage stored data for performance of, for example, backup operations, security audits, data mining operations, or other features. To adequately manage and maintain such a vast amount of data, the various elements of the distributed network must be able to retrieve the data located on several different forms of storage medium.
A Storage Area Network (SAN) type infrastructure is an example of a complex distributed network. A SAN is a network that connects multiple servers and multiple storage devices. SAN operations include input to and output from various storage devices. A SAN, for example, may be configured such that various servers are allowed to access data located on various storage media (RAID, a DVD-RAM library, or other media) within subsections of the network. This access may be provided via local servers, LAN arrangements to storage elements, individual servers, and/or other network elements. A SAN realizes the sharing of various storage devices, high-speed data processing between servers and storage devices, and long distance connections between its elements.
One of the concerns regarding storage in SAN implemented enterprises is whether data stored on the storage devices is being managed properly to ensure data availability. Data availability requirements typically include ensuring that the data is available to the applications that need it, when they need it, and with quality of service requirements being met. In addition, administrators need to evaluate the level of available storage capacity and the level of usage for elements and storage units in the enterprise. Significant storage-related expenditures of an enterprise make storage management a critical part of running the enterprise. One of the main reasons for high management costs is that managing storage (and ensuring data availability) requires a comprehensive and diverse set of tools, which generally present a further management challenge. Conventional storage management tools typically have different strengths and weaknesses and often provide different views of the same limited set of information.
Furthermore, the multiple management tools necessary to successfully manage a distributed environment are not available in the form of an integrated solution such as, for example, one offered or serviced by a single vendor. Accordingly, conventional storage management tools do not perform well with one another throughout the entirety of a distributed network. Specifically, while there may be many different management products available, most if not all do not work well together and do not appear to have a common goal in mind (i.e., maximizing the performance of a storage infrastructure by enabling an end user to perform and automate tasks that need to be completed on a daily basis in order to effectively manage a storage environment).
To overcome these and other shortcomings of conventional storage management systems, the invention provides comprehensive systems and methods that optimize complex data storage environments by providing tools allowing for data protection and classification to best suit the needs of an enterprise.